Ascertained Strength
by Reakain
Summary: Travis learns in a rather difficult manner why one should never call Jeremy weak, no matter what the circumstances. JeremyxTravis. R&R please.


**Ascertained Strength**

Yume Inochi

The red haired man smacked soundly against the strong wooden surface of the ship, wincing at the pain and nearly stumbling as the ship rocked along through the water. "What do you mean by calling me weak! Huh, Travis?"

The blond was seething, gloved hands gripping the taller man's shoulders tightly. He was shaking, and anger was evident in his blue orbs. It was odd, how quickly the young so-called warrior could become angered. All he had done was explain the man wasn't of any assistance to Travis… Of course, he supposed that could have been taken the wrong way by such a hot-headed man. Looking to the leather encased hands momentarily he stared straight back at the enraged man, moving his own hands to grasp the other's. He squeezed tightly until the man winced, lifting away the appendages before shoving the man further away. When Travis spoke his voice was calmed, unconcerned with the anger of Jeremy, "Don't touch me."

The taller of the two then turned to leave, not watching as the other stumbled back, falling to the ground from his bulky armor. However, with a snarl the man was back on his feet as he lunged at Travis pinning him to the ground and knocking him against the wooden surface. "Am I weak! Am I!"

Travis's arms were pinned under him, and he tried to push himself up somewhat as he turned his head to face the blond soldier, blood seeping from his forehead. He licked at the crimson calmly as it traversed along the contours of his features, stating in his normal cool voice, "I never called you weak, Jeremy."

Jeremy stared in horror, moving shakily and stumbling. His eyes never left the trail of blood as he moved just enough to allow Travis to roll onto his back. Blue eyes slowly fell to Travis's chest as he stated with uncertainty, his voice pained, "I-I… I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you… I just…"

Travis didn't seem to hold pity for the nearly bipolar man, reaching a hand up to wipe irritably at the blood. He sat up on an elbow, eyes seeming to dig holes in the top of Jeremy's head. Why was he always the one who was forced to put up with fools? Especially this particular fool, who was always eager to be violent. Travis gently placed a hand against his skull at the thought, suddenly remembering the throbbing headachehe now had from being bashed around by the soldier that had been picked up.

He slowly reached out the same hand, reaching under Jeremy's head to tap at his chin, trying to get him to lift his head, as the stare was getting to be obnoxious. "Then how about you get off, if you want to be so apologetic?"

Blue eyes slowly turned to regard Travis, one hand gripping at the leather stripped shirt. His other hand reached out shakily from where he sat upon Travis, gently touching the torn flesh upon the man's pale forehead. It was warm, and Jeremy seemed to be in a daze as he leaned closer, staring over the man. "I'm not weak… And you can't tell me what to do."

He seemed to retain himself for the most part; eyes burning into Travis as he gripped the back of the cat lover's skull, fingers twining themselves into his short hair as he partook of Travis's coarse, dry lips. The blond ignored the squirming of the man who was pinned under the combined weight of Jeremy and Jeremy's unbalanced, heavy leather armor. Both hands worked to try and push the blond away, almost frantically as he tried to hold to his unwaveringly bored demeanor, but could only fail in this scenario.

When the blond finally did release Travis's mouth, he pulled away his hand to, head striking the wood with a sickening noise which was closely followed by a groan of pain. Jeremy jumped, quickly moving to check the injury, a she still had yet to get off of Travis, "I'm sorry, you must have such a headache."

Although the normally angered man showed concern, slight joy was in his eyes, as the occurrence had obviously pleased him. Travis for his part glared and replied without a care for his normally cool surface, "Of course my head hurts... Is there anything else you would enjoy banging it into before the day lets up?"

Jeremy smiled, grinning some and kissing the unsuspecting Travis once more before standing and stating pleasantly, "No, but I'd enjoy seeing you in the training home later, so that I can prove to you fully that I'm no weakling."

With that he ran off, leaving Travis to pick himself up and chuckle quietly, mentally noting the change in mood of the poorly tempered man. After the occurrences in the empty hall he wondered what Jeremy was planning in the unknowing Reinhold's training center.

* * *

Umm... Yeah... Reason why one should never tell Jeremy that he's weak, even if it is in a roundabout way. Any more pairings from any Suikoden are greatly appreciated. Also, pleased read and review! 


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